So I've got about four month's until D's follow-up, Cake, hits the stands. And we really need to make an impression this time. But how does one do that with a small company that has no money, little to no urban contacts and a product that will be diving into a pool jam-packed with product? If I had an answer I wouldn't be blogging about it.
It comes back to the same things which have me on the periphery of the book world these days. Though I've published six books that have all gotten good reviews and media attention, thought my books are regularly purchased by schools and libraries nationwide, I'm still considered to be a be a failure within the sinking ship that is our currently very corporate business. So how do I make my boy a success?
I've been going over a number of ideas in my head for our next marketing meeting, one where I, as the black guy and brainchild behind this venture, will need to come up with some sort of a plan. And while having D parachute into the ring during the new Floyd Mayweather bout might seem like a good idea, I don't have the dough for the shoot, not the plane for him to jump out of.
So I'm brainstorming here. And as I like to do from time, I'm asking for your help. Those of you who spent your hard-earned money on GOT know that the talent (though extremely raw and raunchy at times) is there. The question is: How do I get folks to take notice?
Keep in mind that I'm not completely clueless, but as so many of my promotional efforts have either failure or been lost in the sauce I'd love to get some outside input. So feel free to drop me a line. And but GOT sometime between now and then. You've been getting free blogs damn near daily for years ;)
On a completely different note, I highly suggest you take a listen to new kids on the block, Coultrain. His debut album, The Adventures of Seymour Liberty combines strong Marvin and Stevie influences to create a neo-neo-soul offering that will definitely tide you over until the next D and Maxwell records finally drop.
Now I'm off to the the kiddies. We're rehearsing scenes from their screenplay today. Need to remind myself to pop a Valium on my way out the door. Out.
2 comments:
The Relentless Aaron/Heru Ptah approach to marketing books seems to really work. Old-fashioned hustle.
Love your blog, although I didn’t read the recent Wire post, because I haven’t finished the season yet.
Best Regards
There was a piece this morning on NPR about how publishers are offering sneak peeks at books online. I thought it was interesting. The big guns are looking for new ways to get the word out about their stuff too.
For a small press with no money and no urban contacts though, hmmmmm....
Well, you can do almost anything with a good computer. How about turn the book into an audiobook?
You can hire friends or actors looking for a foot in the door to read (or interpret, take your pick) the book. Sell the entire book as an audiobook on iTunes.
Or you can try and do something more creative like turn the chapters of the audiobook into a series on iTunes. Each chapter is a new episode. For a week, the current chapter being offered can be downloaded for free. If someone neglects to catch the chapter while it's free, they'll have to pay $.99 or whatever to get it.
If they're really hooked you can offer the entire book for download at one time. Maybe with a little viral marketing, word of mouth, and an article here and there in the press (call up some journalist friends), you can stir up interest.
I'm just trying to think out of the box. Not sure if it would work, but it's worth a try. Or you can do like the previous poster wrote...hustle.
Good luck though.
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